The Appellate Court of Linz ruled in favour of SPI Group, confirming
their ownership of both trademarks in Austria.

In its decision, the Austrian Appellate Court held that the Dutch
interim judgments as well as the later Dutch judgments do not have any
binding effect on the Austrian proceedings.

The Austrian Court also:

rejected the Dutch Courts’ approach that an invalidity of the Russian
privatization would not be subject to any limitation period;

noted that the approach used by the Dutch Courts’ ignores the fact
that the privatization had for many years been considered by all
persons involved, including the Russian State, as legal and had been
implemented and “lived” as such, until the change of political power
in Russia in 1999/2000 which ushered in a change of view; and

observed that the considerations by the Dutch Courts tune out any
specific discussion on the merits on Russian limitation law.

In contrast to the Dutch approach, in the Austrian proceedings,
extensive court expert opinions were rendered and concluded that Russian
limitation law applies and precluded FKP’s claims.

To date, the Dutch decisions are the notable anomaly in the global
dispute.

This decision once again confirms that the trademarks were lawfully
acquired by SPI.

SPI and its affiliates own the Stolichnaya trademarks in more than 180
countries.

About SPI Group S.à r.l.

SPI
Group is an independent company with a talented multinational team
headquartered in Luxembourg, with production facilities in the USA,
Latvia, Mexico, Argentina, and Spain. The group is committed to a
mission of building a respected portfolio of select premium drinks
brands, which it achieves by controlling and perfecting every stage of
the process, from the cultivation through the distribution.